Falcons take rubber game 4-3, lock down first-ever series win in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif.- Gabriel Garcia broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th, while Doyle Gehring closed out the afternoon with a three-inning save to cement Air Force's 4-3 win over Fresno State.

By taking the rubber game on Sunday, the Falcons earned their first series win in Fresno in program history.

"Every game is a dogfight, and our cadets showed tremendous grit and resiliency in our effort today," said head coach Mike Kazlausky. "These wins, especially on the road, shows that we have what it takes to make some noise in our conference."

Paul Skenes, Jay Thomason, and Trayden Tamiya all finished 2-4, while Thomason's solo home run in the 3rd gave the Falcons an initial 1-0 lead. Thomason continues to lead Air Force in long balls, now with nine on the season.

Sam Kulasingam drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 3rd, his 18th RBI of the season. Aerik Joe was credited with a RBI following a bases-loaded fielder's choice in the 4th, though the biggest hit of the game came in the 7th.

After Tamiya led off the inning with one his two singles, the Falcons second baseman eventually made his way to third following a sac bunt and ground out. With two outs, Garcia poked a 3-1 pitch into center field to score Tamiya, giving Air Force a 4-3 lead. With the base-hit, Garcia extended his hit streak to seven-consecutive games.

Making his sixth start of 2022, Seungmin Shim was brilliant over the course of five innings. The southpaw held the Bulldogs to one run, surrendering just five hits to go with two strikeouts and two walks. Shim managed to create two double-plays over his five innings to deflate a couple of potential Fresno State rallies.

Zach Argo entered in the 6th after Shim began the inning with a walk. The senior reliever started his inning with a fly out, though Fresno State's Ivan Luna got a hold of a 2-2 fastball, launching a home run over the right field fence to trim the Air Force lead to 3-2.

Argo was hit with an unearned run after a throwing error allowed a runner to reach with two outs. One batter later, Fresno State's Payton Allen tied the game with a double.

Garcia's RBI single in the next half inning opened the door for Air Force closer Doyle Gehring, who limited the Bulldogs to just one hit over his three innings. Gehring struck out five of the 11 batters he faced, including two punch-outs in the 9th.

"We had a tremendous pitching performance from our starter Seungmin Shim, and our closer Doyle Gehring, who was extended for a three-inning save," said Kaz. "Fresno State is a great baseball team and I'm very proud of our boys to get'er done on the road once again."

Next, Air Force will look to take its momentum to Abilene Christian, as the Falcons take on the Wildcats for a quick two-game midweek series starting Tuesday, April 5. First-pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 5:00 pm MT.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.